1. Technical Field
Aspects of the present invention relates to a network system for sharing data (content, etc.) stored in a server, and a communication device for transmitting and receiving such data to be shared in the network system.
2. Related Art
Network systems, capable of connecting and integrating a variety of electrical appliances via a LAN (Local Area Network), have come into wide use in ordinary households in recent years (see Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 2002-319947, for example).
Under such circumstances, a standard called DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance®) has been proposed so that still image data, video data and music data (audio data) can be shared among PCs (Personal Computers), TV program recording devices, mobile devices, etc. by connecting the devices together by a LAN.
In a network system employing the standard, content (video, etc.) stored in a PC in a house can be operated and appreciated (edited, viewed, etc.) on other electrical appliances (television set, etc.) in the house via a LAN (see Michiko Nagai, “DLNA which ensures interconnectivity of PCs and household electrical appliances—compatible products are being launched by various manufacturers” (online), Oct. 6, 2004, CNET Japan editorial office <URL: http://japan.cnet.com/news/tech/story/0,2000047674,20074987,00.htm> (browsed on Sep. 16, 2005), for example). In short, DLNA® is a technique for sharing content, etc. stored in a server.
However, in such a network system connecting a plurality of network-compatible devices together by a network and thereby sharing various data, it is impossible to share data which is sent from the outside of the network in a data format that can not be processed by some of the network-compatible devices.